President’s Award for Global Learning Finalist Teams Selected

We are excited to announce the 14 finalist teams for the inaugural year of the President’s Award for Global Learning. The President's Award for Global Learning is the signature program of the International Board of Advisors, a select group of influencers, who together with the President Gregory L. Fenves and senior leadership of The University of Texas at Austin are working to expand UT's global network.

Through a competitive process, seven teams of students and faculty mentors are selected to pursue interdisciplinary projects relating to international research, social impact, and entrepreneurship in regions throughout the world. The teams work with international partner organizations, traveling together to implement their projects and gain hands-on experience.

There were 28 proposals during the President’s Award first round of applications from teams comprised of 98 students representing 10 colleges and 64 faculty representing 14 colleges. A review committee of faculty from colleges and schools across campus reviewed the submitted proposals and selected 14 finalist teams.

The finalist teams will participate in a pitch competition in October hosted by a panel of judges selected by President Fenves. From the 14 finalist teams, one award winner per region will be selected for a total of seven winning teams. Each member of the runner-up teams will receive an award of $1,000. The final awardees will receive up to $25,000 toward project implementation costs, as well as additional travel and academic financial support.

The finalist teams by region are:

Africa

The Color Complex

Explore the influences of colorism in Ghana through the lenses of media and businesses; identity and sense of self-worth; the cyclical nature of skin bleaching in families; and social mobility.

A New State of Mind: Mental Health in South Korea

Explore whether culturally grounded intervention programs, through the use of a mobile app and in-person workshops, can have an impact on people’s opinions on mental illness and suicide in South Korea.